Operation Compass

[Michael T]

Hi all, here is the beginning of what I hope will be series of AAR's that will cover the entire span of the Campaign for North Africa 1940-1943, starting with Compass and ending with Husky. My opponent is Mr D.Lazov, who will be playing as the Commonwealth Commander through the entire series. We begin of course with Operation Compass. I was not certain if I was going to do an AAR or not. So for the first 5 turns I only have access to the situation at the end of each Allied turn. From turn 6 on I will be able to show my own moves. Hopefully this little AAR may generate some interest for this series and perhaps entice some new players.

Here is the scenario description, you will see the scenario is 33 turns in length, beginning 8th December 1940. That's a long time for my Italian's to hold out. Each turn is 2 days in time. Hex scale is 10km.

scenario.png (23.11 KiB) Viewed 964 times

[Michael T]

Here are the at start positions. The allies move first.

[Michael T]

Here is the situation at the end of Allied T1. The allies made 2 attacks. First attacking the units that are circled in Red. Losses were 4/12 (attacker/defender) for that attack. The allies using their armor in a massed assault. With the allies victorious and pushing the Italian's back.

The second attack (Red square), was a reversal for the allies, the Italian's holding out against an all infantry (Indian 4th Division) frontal attack. 16/9 losses. Don (allied commander) commenting that perhaps he should have isolated the Italian's first then made his infantry assault. I would agree, since isolating the units first would result in them melting away rapidly in following turns, due to the penalties for Isolation and the poor Italian morale. From my experience in this series (including The First Blitzkrieg) frontal attacks with pure infantry units can become a costly exercise. Note he has isolated the Italian 63rd Division (Blue Nato Icon).

Note that all the Italian units with a Yellow outline are fixed. They will begin to release around turn 3/4. This represents the surprise achieved by O'Connor, the relative unpreparedness of the Italian's and the paralysis of the their command in the early days.

[Michael T]

Even though my Italians held out, they were somewhat battered by the Indian's. The loss of Unit Effectiveness being most significant.

combat loss T1.png (52.94 KiB) Viewed 959 times

[Michael T]

And here is the Victory Dialog at the end of Allied T1, I hold 64 VP. You can see that for the Axis to win they need to hold at least 550 VP at scenario end. No small feat. Each objective is worth 1 to 5 VP, I currently hold 30 VP in total (eg Tobruk is worth 5VP per turn). I will receive that total amount each turn so long as I hold the objectives. But that total will gradually diminish as the allies capture each objective. So the incentive is for the allies to push forward quickly and for the Axis to hold on as long as practicable. So it's a balancing act, risking the loss of precious units weighed against the loss of object VP. I cannot win by simply running away to El Agheila.

Also note the VP gained or lost for casualties. I will gain more VP's for inflicting losses on the allies. Look's like allied factors are roughly worth double that of the Italian's.

victory t1.png (11.47 KiB) Viewed 952 times

[Michael T]

Turn 2 (12th Dec 1940). This is the beginning of Allied T2. During my move I withdrew gently with the few units I could move. The allies moved upon and attacked the Italian 63rd Division (circled in Red) and obliterated it with a mass of armor, they were previously isolated in T1 and were easy meat for Tommy. There were no survivors. Note the blank units, green circle. The only optional rule we are using is 'Show Unknown Units'. This rule places every unit in view but nothing about the unit(s) is known until you fly a successful recon mission or move a unit adjacent to it.

[Michael T]

Situation end allied T2. After his successful annihilation of the 63rd (only survivor the 21st Corp Artillery unit) the allied mech forces move to the south west of my army.

[Kolc]

[zovs]

Michael, may I contribute my side to your AAR or would you rather I create a new thread?

I am okay either way.

BTW I have no screenshots saved sad face...

[Michael T]

Turn 3 (14th Dec 1940). This is the beginning of Allied T3.